"You're an Unauthorised Occupant": Supreme Court Tells Samajwadi Party Over Pilibhit Office Eviction

The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing the matter.

The Bench made a strong observations about the alleged misuse of political power.

“How did you come to occupy the premises?” Justice Kant asked Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for the SP.

“People should have some faith in the system. If you’ve misused political power, you can’t now complain about procedure not being followed," Justice Kant said.

Dave contended that the premises were allotted by the municipal authority and that the party had been forcibly locked out without due process. “They can’t just lock the premises arbitrarily,” he submitted.

The Bench was not persuaded. “As of now, you’re an unauthorised occupant. The lease stands cancelled. When power is misused, the proper procedure is conveniently forgotten,” Justice Kant remarked.

The Court also clarified that since a civil suit concerning the same dispute is already pending before the trial court, it would not express any opinion on the merits of the case.

“The petitioner is at liberty to seek ad-interim relief before the trial court, which shall consider the same in accordance with law,” the Court directed.

In a lighter moment during the hearing, Justice Kant took exception to the suggestion that Court functioning had been impacted by strikes. “Please don’t say the court was on strike. It was the lawyers. We passed a very strict order during that period,” he said.